Cakes not rising - could it be the oven?

angeltreats

I know they say a bad workman blames his tools, but I'm starting to believe that that's not entirely true :rotfl:

We moved to our current house in September, and since then I think about 60% of the cakes I've made haven't risen properly. And none of my scones have. And I really can't figure out why.

I've posted before about my horrible oven that runs hot (but sometimes seems to run cold) and tends to burn things like pastry when you forget to keep an eye on it. I do have an oven thermometer though and check that the temperature is right on the shelf I intend to use for baking. The seal is very loose and coming away from the oven, although when you close the door it kind of squishes it together. Could that be it? Maybe some air is getting in from somewhere? It's a non-fan oven and is probably about twenty years old and would have been replaced by any normal person years ago if it wasn't in a rental property.

All the usual reasons why cakes don't rise just aren't possible reasons. I never ever open the oven door, at least not till it's time to check whether the cake is done yet. I pre-heat the oven properly. I use fresh eggs and my flour is probably only a couple of weeks old. I don't over-beat the mixture. I don't twist the cutter when making scones, or roll them out too thin, or handle the dough too much. The cakes and scones still taste lovely but I feel rather embarrassed at how sad they look

Is there anything else I'm missing, or is it likely the oven's fault and should I give up and stick to biscuits until we buy a house and get a new oven?

kippers

I'm afraid to say it really does sound like your oven ....(just a thought though.. you do use baking powder and s/r flour don't you)?

If it is your oven then pls be careful cooking meat etc to make sure it is cooked and you don't poisen you and the rest of your household.

Can you ask your landlord to fix the cooker?..i don't know where you stand legally?...maybe you should check as it may need to be serviced if it's gas

angeltreats

I do use SR flour and baking powder, yes.

I strongly doubt the landlord is going to replace the oven as long as it still turns on and heats up. It's kind of a weird situation, the owner of the house is living in Mexico and apparently has no money, and her father has power of attorney and is looking after her affairs and is not inclined to spend money on the place. It's not in a great state of repair, ancient windows, kitchen falling apart etc. We had a bit of a nightmare getting him to sort out our TV aerial a while ago when we had absolutely no reception at all. It was only a temporary measure when we moved to a new area until we were able to buy so hopefully we'll not be here for much longer, so certainly not going to buy our own replacement.

It is electric anyway so no worries about gas leaks.

msb5262

Could you either get the seal replaced on the oven or do as a friend of mine did - use extra-wide foil to create a better seal on the oven door in the short term? Might help. Alternatively see if you can do batch baking in a friend's kitchen in return for a share of your scones or whatever!

flea72

what type of oven is it?

does it have different cooking modes, as well as temps

is it a fan oven?

F

angeltreats

The brand is Homark. It's not a fan oven, it's just a very very basic conventional oven. There are three programs on the dial - oven, grill and something else that has a lightbulb but doesn't actually do anything.

I found some glue online that's specifically for repairing ovens so I might give that a try. How did the foil seal thing work? Did she attach it to the door?

Pitlanepiglet

Our oven is about 90 years old (I may exaggerate slightly!) and we find that we have to pre-heat it for a good 40 minutes before we need it otherwise things cook really badly.

I can cook traybakes in mine but fairly cakes come out rock hard no matter what I try!

msb5262

No, didn't attach it to the door - just closed door carefully each time with a large piece of foil (slightly larger than door) shut inside the door. I suppose it was a bit like shutting a window with the curtain caught inside the frame, but it did improve things!

zippychick

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Our oven is about 90 years old (I may exaggerate slightly!) and we find that we have to pre-heat it for a good 40 minutes before we need it otherwise things cook really badly.

I can cook traybakes in mine but fairly cakes come out rock hard no matter what I try!

Fairly rock hard? Sorry.

:rotfl:

juliapenguin

Do you know someone who has an oven thermometer? I'm not sure how much they cost, but when my oven was playing up I borrowed one off a friend and it really helped to know how hot the oven was at any given time.

Actually the oven was knackered, and as I didn't have a microwave either I eventually bought a combination microwave thingy and it makes brilliant cakes. It's only a thought, but you'd be able to take it with you when you buy a place. In my opinion it's one of the most useful things I've ever bought as it does amazing jacket spuds in 12 minutes when you use microwave and convection oven together. It doesn't cost much to run either.

simpywimpy

my cooker is brand new and its awful at baking. Ive had a cake in today that is overdone on the bottom yet it was right in the middle of the oven at 180...

Seeing I want to start a cake business, Im struggling to know what to do